The present invention relates to wireless power and more particularly to a system and method for detecting remote device battery characteristics and wirelessly supplying power to the remote device based on the detected characteristics.
Charging of batteries with an inductive power supply is well-known. Inductive chargers for electric automobiles or small electric appliances such as toothbrushes have met some amount of success. Because inductive charging does not require a physical connection between the battery and the charger, the charging is considerably more convenient. However, there is room for improvement. One inconvenient aspect of conventional inductive chargers is that they only charge one battery chemistry. That is, conventional inductive chargers use pre-determined hard coded charging algorithms that do not adapt to account for different battery chemistries. Many devices accept batteries of multiple chemistries, but if the user does not employ the correct batteries for the particular inductive charger, the batteries will not charge efficiently, and might not charge at all.
Some wired battery chargers employ multiple charging algorithms to accommodate devices that use different battery chemistries. For example, some flashlights accept either NiMH batteries or alkaline batteries. Wired battery chargers rely on a direct physical connection to the batteries, which conventional inductive charging systems do not have, in order to determine battery chemistry. For example, conventional wired battery chargers may determine remote device battery chemistry by directly sensing voltage, current or temperature during a qualification charge. These direct measurements may not be taken by a conventional inductive charger, which makes determining the remote device battery chemistry and other remote device battery characteristics difficult.